Hegseth Ends Ban on Personal Firearms for Service Members on Military Bases

Pensacola, FL (Newsradio 92.3) -- Secretary of War Pete Hegseth signed a memo Wednesday directing military installation commanders to allow service members to carry personal firearms on base for self-protection — ending a longstanding policy that Hegseth said had effectively turned U.S. military bases into gun-free zones.

The memo, titled "Non-Official Personal Protection Arming on Department of War Property," directs commanders to apply a presumption of approval to any service member's request to carry a privately owned firearm while in a nonofficial duty capacity. If a request is denied, the denial must be provided in writing with a detailed explanation.

"Before today, it was virtually impossible for War Department personnel to get permission to carry and store their own personal weapons aligned with the state laws where we operate our installations," Hegseth said. "Effectively, our bases across the country were gun-free zones. Unless you're training, or unless you are a military policeman, you couldn't carry, you couldn't bring your own firearm for your own personal protection onto post. Well, that's no longer."

Hegseth cited recent shootings at military installations as justification for the change, specifically referencing the 2019 attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola — which killed three sailors and injured eight others — as well as a 2025 shooting at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and a March 2026 shooting at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.

"Not all enemies are foreign, nor are they all outside our borders," Hegseth said. "Some are domestic."

The policy applies only to uniformed service members and does not permit personal carry inside the Pentagon building itself, though Pentagon personnel may apply to store a personal firearm in a vehicle on the Pentagon Reservation.

Gun violence prevention advocates raised immediate concerns about the policy. The Brady organization noted that Department of War leadership and military brass have historically opposed relaxing personal carry rules on base. Pentagon data shows firearm suicide is the most common method of death by suicide among active duty, reserve, and National Guard members, with 471 service members dying by suicide in 2024 alone.

The new policy does not affect service members' ability to use weapons during official training or while serving in a military police capacity, which were already permitted under prior rules.